Programs

About Canadian Lutheran World Relief:

Founded in 1946, Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) is a Christian international aid charity that challenges the causes and responds to the consequences of human suffering and poverty. CLWR serves the world’s poor and marginalized through humanitarian aid, food security programs, development projects, commodity shipment programs, and refugee resettlement.

Canadian Lutheran World Relief delivers community development programming through church priority projects, Canadian Foodgrains Bank projects and DFATD-supported programs in Africa, Asia and South America. Through emergency relief, CLWR addressed two crises in F2018: aid to over 8,400 people affected by flooding due to the monsoon in northern India and southern Nepal, and aid to 12,200 South Sudanese refugees in 3,110 host community members in Uganda.

CLWR’s food security programs improve access to food through agriculture support and infrastructure development. In F2018, the charity built an irrigation system on the Demale River in Ethiopia, benefitting 480 families. In addition, CLWR used cooperatives to help 1,026 small scale farmer households with irrigation and livestock practices.

CLWR’s development projects work with communities to improve education. The Improved Learning Environments for Children (ILEC) is an ongoing project in partnership with the Jordanian Ministry of Education. So far, the project has rehabilitated 26 schools, including 20 school washrooms and constructed 6 completely new school washrooms.

CLWR’s WE CARE program ships supplies to communities in need. In F2018, CLWR distributed 50,000kg of goods, including 22,000 quilts and blankets and 5,800 baby bundles to people in need in Tanzania, Mauritania, Liberia, and Angola.

Results and Impact

CLWR’s refugee resettlement program assists groups in submitting refugee applications and preparing for the arrival of new immigrants to Canada. In F2018, CLWR settled 76 refugees in Canada through this program.

Finances

Canadian Lutheran World Relief is a medium-sized charity with donations of $4.4m in F2018. Administrative costs are 4% of revenues (excluding investment income), and fundraising costs are 6% of donations. For every dollar donated, 90 cents go towards CLWR’s programs, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. The charity has funding reserves of $8.7m, resulting in a program cost coverage ratio of 95%. This means that CLWR can cover just under 1 year of annual program costs using its existing reserves.

This charity report is an update that was sent to CLWR for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated July 23, 2019 by Caroline McKenna.

Financial Review

Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending March

2018

2017

2016

Administrative costs as % of revenues

4.1%

4.9%

2.7%

Fundraising costs as % of donations

6.1%

4.9%

5.9%

Total overhead spending

10.2%

9.8%

8.6%

Program cost coverage (%)

94.8%

90.0%

113.0%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s

2018

2017

2016

Donations

4,352

3,831

4,823

Government funding

4,893

5,539

7,479

Investment income

88

69

78

Total revenues

9,333

9,440

12,379

Program costs

9,022

9,100

9,620

Grants

105

205

0

Administrative costs

380

456

333

Fundraising costs

266

189

283

Total spending

9,773

9,950

10,236

Cash flow from operations

(440)

(511)

2,143

Capital spending

38

24

16

Funding reserves

8,654

8,377

10,873

Note: Ci has accounted for community relations expense of $1.1m in F2018, $932k in F2017, and $1.2m in F2016 as a program cost.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 18

Avg. Compensation: $85,033

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +

0

$300k - $350k

0

$250k - $300k

0

$200k - $250k

0

$160k - $200k

1

$120k - $160k

0

$80k - $120k

5

$40k - $80k

4

< $40k

0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2018

The information in this report was prepared by Charity Intelligence Canada and its independent analysts from publicly-available information. Charity Intelligence Canada and its analysts have made endeavours to ensure that the data in this report is accurate and complete but accept no liability.

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